Hand stamp



F. J. ROUAN March 6, 1956 HAND STAMP Filed Feb. 6, 1955 'Illll Y 4 United States Patent O HAND STAMIv FrancisJ. Ronan, Darien, Conm, ,assigner to Pitney- Bowes, Inc., Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application 1`ebr'uary6,1953,` Serial "No, 335,531 1-Claim. (Cl. 101-3-71)k This invention relates to hand stamps and particularly to. dating stamps or the like having4 lsettablerprintlng p ortions designed to be moved for changing their'setting so as to alter the matter printed by thestamp in a convenient and expeditious manner.

In previously known hand stamps the datehas been printed by a plurality of coaxial printing Wheels having types on their peripheries, andlwhich are individually settable and can be lockedin set position by various means. The present invention has forits object the provision of Vnovel locking means for holding the printing wheels in set position, `the locking means being of'such character that advantage can be taken of operating grooves formed between the types on the wheel periphery, without requiring additional perforation or alteration ofthe Wheels.

AnotherV object of the invention is the provision of a novel and inexpensive type slug mountingy for use with type slugs which seldom requirey changing e. g. year designating types, but which is also extremely convenient to operate whenva change of the-I slug is required. A feature of the invention in this connection is .the arrange-` ment of the parts so that the removabletype slug `can be snapped into and out of place without disturbing any other'portions of the mechanism, even though the stamp includes a substantially enclosing housing element.

Another feature of the inventionis the provision of a simple printing headstructure for a hand stamp in which the head is made up of an .upwardly opening cup enclosing, the printing Wheelshwhichupis vclosed 1.at the top by fa plug connected'to the cupK and to *,afh'handle; It fis .also a, feature of the invention that deterlgtSffor the Awlteels are provided for by mounting,resilientfingers on thje..b,ottom of the plug in a position to engagesthewheel peripheries.

With the above and other objectsdnnrview, Whihwill appear as the description proceeds, 1theginventon.resides in .the combination and arrangementoffparts ,eandainfthe details of construction hereinafterdeseribjed and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a mallet type hand stamp according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom face view of the printing head used in the device of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the printing head used on the device of Fig. 1, drawn to a larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially on line 4 4 of Fig. 3, parts being broken away to illustrate the structure in detail;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a removable type slug used with the device of Figs. l to 4;

Fig. 6 is a bottom face view of the type slug of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a device embodying the pres- 2,737,113 Patented. Mar. 6,119.56

2 ent invention, but illustrating a different type of manipulating means.

Referring to thepdrawings, the ,device ofthe present invention includes, as seen in Fig. 1,' a printing vhead 11 togwh'ich is secured a handle including a bent shank 13 carrying a grip member 15. Referringlto Fig. 3the printing head includes a plug 17 having a lcentral tapped opening 19 into which is threaded the threaded end 21 ofthe shank 13. The end 21 ofshank 13'and p1ug117 canbe secured in any desired threadedrelationship by means of jamb nut` 23 and-lock washer 25.

Surrounding the plug andvdepending therefrom is a cup-shaped shell 27 having printing 'die 29 on its, bottom face. The cup-shaped -shell27"is secured to the plug 17 by a taper pin 31pdriven'into suitably formed'openin'gs 33, 35 and 37 in the plug andthe sides of'the shell respectively.

The bottom of the cup-shaped shell 27ghas an opening 39 `arranged to receive a portion of the` periphery of each ofea plurality of date and time printing wheels. The wheels are shown in Figs. 2 and 4 vas including a month wheel 41, arday tens wheel 43, a day units -wheel 45,pan hour tens wheel 47, an hour units Wheel '49, and acombined half-hourand a. in. or p. m. designator wheel .5 1, These wheels are stacked and centrally. apertured to receive a bushing 53 mountedjon a shaft SS'and secured thereto as by a cotter key 57.' The shaft SSviswxed .to the shell 27 by having its ends mounted in suitableapertures 59. The shaft 55r is located at a suitablelevel in the shell 27 so that the type faces on the peripheryof the type wheels 41, 43, 45,217,49'1and Sliare projected through the opening 39 in the cup bottom andinto subn st-antially the same printing plane as the printing` die29j.

Each of the type wheels isprovided with aV plurality of relatively deep equally spaced notches 61- Aeach located between a pair of type members and vso arranged that Athe notches 'of` all wheelsV will line upf with each other whenever any set of printing charactersare lined up Yin the printing position.

The notches 61-serve atriple purpose as will presently appear, theiirst of these usesbeing asreceptors for. the end. of a setting stylus permittingthe'date wheels ,41,to 5-1to be set rapidly and 'accuratelyfromntheprintingjface ofthe implement. v l

TheV notches 61 also serve as portionsof a detent mechanism and cooperate with suitable spring fingers which hold the wheelsreleasably in desired printing position .once-set. In the form of the invention ,shownthese spring fingers are formed by slotting a plate 63i of springy material rsuchwas vsteel lto form along one `edgea comb of projecting fingers 71, 73,` 75, 77,l79andv81`p9sitioned to cooperate withth'e Wheels 41 to .551- respectively., As bestfseen-in Fig. 3, each of the 'fingers 71 to 81 is bent to form a downwardly projecting rounded nose 5.3 which is of a size to enter only part of the way intothe mouths of Wheel notches 61. When the plate 63 is secured to a suitably positioned boss formed on the bottom of the plug 17, for example by fasteners 37, the nose portions 83 are so positioned as to engage the notches 61 with a gentle spring pressure and to prevent the wheels 41 to 51 from accidental rotation ,While setting is effected. The nose portions S3 have a pronounced detenting action since they must be deflected a substantial amount by the ntervening type member in moving from one notch 61 to the next.

In order to insure that the setting of the printing wheels is not inadvertently changed, means is provided for locking the wheels in set position. This means is in the form of a locking rod 89 which has a threaded section 90 threaded into a suitable internally threaded opening 91 1n the wall of shell 27. The rod 89 extends across the cup and into a small opening 93, the openings 91 and 93 being so positioned that the rod 89 passes through an aligned set of notches 61 in the printing wheels 41 to 51 when they are positioned for printing, as seen in Fig. 2. The rod is preferably provided with a knurled and slotted head 95^to expedite its manipulation in use.

For portions of the printing which are seldom changed, for example the year numerals, it is convenient to provide a removable and replaceable type slug which according to the present invention, is provided with novel retaining means which make for easy replacement. The slug, which is preferably shaped as shown in Figs. and 6, is designated generally by reference character 97, and includes a printing head 99 and a stem 101. The stem 101 is provided with a suitable notch or groove 103 for a purpose which will presently appear. A recess 105 complementary in shape to the printing head 99, and in which it has a non-rotating t, is formed in the printing face of the shell 27 adjacent one wall thereof, and a hole 107 of a size and shape to receive the stem 101 extends inwardly from the recess. A groove 109 extends around the exterior surface of the cup 27 near the bottom thereof and is sunk deep enough into the shell to partially intersect the stem hole 107. A snap ring 111 is seated in this groove and thus projects partially into the hole 107 to lie within the notch or groove 103 of stern 101 whenever the slug 97 is in place with its printing head in the recess 105. Adjacent the top of the stern 101, when the slug 97 is in place, the shell 27 is provided with a small access opening 113 through which an instrument, such as a screw driver, can be inserted to engage the stern 101 and dislodge it from position against the retaining force of the snap ring 111.

In use, the printing indicia on the wheels can be quickly set to give the desired reading by means of the rod or stylus 89, which rod becomes accessible for use by grasping the knurled knob 95 and unthreading the threaded portion 90 from opening 91. The wheels 41 to 51 or any of them are then readily adjusted to the desired printing position by engaging their notches 61 with the stylus at the exposed location at the bottom or cup portion of the shell 27. As the wheels are rotated, the detent fingers 71 to 81 serve to arrest the corresponding wheels at the proper location with a type member in exact printing position. When the proper setting of the wheels has been reached, the rod 89 is replaced in its openings 91 and 93 and threaded home. Locking of the type wheels is thus eifected as a result of the engagement of the rod 89 in the appropriate notches 61 of the wheels. If the matter on slug 97 also requires changing, a screw driver or other pusher member is inserted into opening 113 and into engagement with the end of stern 101. When downward pressure is applied, the force of snap ring 111 is overcome by the camming action of the walls of notch 103 and the slug 97 is projected from the recess 10S where it can be readily grasped and withdrawn. The replacement slug 97 is quickly inserted by merely placing the stem 101 thereof into the opening 107 and pressing against the printing face of the slug until the same snaps into place with its printing head 99 seated in the recess and the snap ring 111 seated in the notch 103 of the stern 101.

The stamp can then be used by striking the printing face against an inking member and then against an article to be marked.

Fig. 7 illustrates a slightly different embodiment of the invention in which the printing head 11 is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 with the same reference characters indicating the same component parts as in said previous views. Instead of using a bent shank such as the shank 13, however, a handle member is directly connected to the plug 17 in a coaxial relationship by any suitable means, e. g. a short threaded shank (not shown) similar to the threaded connection of the shank 13.

The operation of the device of Fig. 7 is in all respects similar to that of Fig. 1, except that in use the handle is grasped directly above the printing member and the printing is performed with a plunger motion instead of a swinging mallet motion as is the case with the device shown in Fig. 1.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

A hand-operated printing stamp comprising a printing head having a printing face and a cylindrical peripheral wall adjacent said face; said head having a recess adjacent said wall and extending inwardly from said printing face; a removable and replaceable type member having a snug t in said recess providing for a printing position of said type member with its printing surface ush with the remainder of said printing face; a detent notch on said type member at the side which is disposed radially outwardly of said head when said type member is in said recess; an encircling groove in the exterior of said wall intersecting a portion of said recess; and a resilient snap ring positioned in said groove and engageable in said detent notch when said type member is in said recess for releasably retaining the same in printing position and for permitting said type member to be readily snapped into and out of said recess, said printing head having an aperture adjacent an inner portion of said type member when in printing position to provide access to said portion by an implement for exerting an ejecting pressure thereon.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 18,249 Robertson Sept. 22, 1857 383,487 Perry May 29, 1888 745,244 Schulz Nov. 24, 1903 1,093,485 Scotford Apr. 14, 1914 1,275,813 Wilday Aug. 13, 1918 1,289,539 Powers Dec. 31, 1918 1,475,136 Olson Nov. 20, 1923 1,912,158 Pannier May 30, 1933 2,506,729 Morin May 9, 1950 

